Volume 1: Planet of Ten Thousand Beasts Chapter 54: Fire

“That’s the Golden War Chariot of the eldest son of the Li family from Chentang Pass. This vehicle actually has one more formidable weapon that hasn’t been used yet,” the younger sister said, her worldly knowledge far surpassing that of Li Juxu.

“What weapon?” Li Juxu asked, intrigued.

“The Wave Shock Cannon!” A flicker of admiration shone in her beautiful eyes.

“So it’s the Wave Shock Cannon!” Li Juxu’s eyes lit up. The Wave Shock Cannon was indeed a devastating weapon. Suddenly, he frowned in confusion. “Why wasn’t it used earlier?”

“It’s broken. A few days ago, I heard that the eldest son of the Li family encountered a fierce beast during a mission and ended up damaging the Wave Shock Cannon. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come to the No. 11 Gathering Place to rest,” she explained. Her information was far more reliable than Li Juxu’s; he had never even heard of the Li family from Chentang Pass.

“What a pity. It seems the Gathering Place doesn’t have any Wave Shock Cannons either. If they did, the fight wouldn’t have been so exhausting,” Li Juxu suddenly realized. In such a large Gathering Place, not a single Wave Shock Cannon was present—that didn’t make sense.

“The cost is too high. The administrators of the Gathering Place are reluctant to spend money. I heard that when they were discussing the construction of the Gathering Place, they concluded the electromagnetic cannon had a better cost-performance ratio,” the younger sister said, giving him a strange look. This was common knowledge, yet he seemed completely unaware.

“Is it really that expensive? More than an electromagnetic cannon?” Li Juxu felt embarrassed. He couldn’t admit that for a long time he had been an unnoticed rookie, preoccupied with making money and paying little attention to other matters. Besides, his visits to the No. 11 Gathering Place were infrequent.

He knew a little about the Wave Shock Cannon—it was a very expensive weapon, beyond his means—but he had no clear idea exactly how costly it was.

“It’s not more expensive than the electromagnetic cannon. The electromagnetic cannon can fire continuously as long as there’s enough power. But the Wave Shock Cannon takes a long time to charge. After firing once, it needs at least ten minutes before it can fire again. Only those with deep pockets would bother using it. I heard the eldest son of the Li family ordered a custom-made small Wave Shock Cannon for his war chariot, which took eight months to complete. The shipping alone cost over six hundred million, and in total, he spent more than twenty-three billion on it.”

“Really wealthy!” Li Juxu exclaimed.

“There are many wealthy heirs, but the only one willing to spend so much on a war chariot seems to be the Li family’s eldest son,” she said.

“How much is the total cost of this war chariot?” Li Juxu asked.

“That I don’t know. I only know it’s packed with cutting-edge technology. Whenever the eldest son of the Li family goes out, he rides in the Golden War Chariot. Seeing the chariot is like seeing the Li family’s eldest son,” she replied.

“Is there any electromagnetic gun sold at the No. 11 Gathering Place?” Li Juxu asked.

“No,” she shook her head. “They rarely appear on the black market, and when they do, the prices are outrageously high—no ordinary person could afford one.”

“If I could get my hands on an electromagnetic gun, that would be worth it,” Li Juxu said with longing.

“There’s a chance!” The younger sister’s words sounded doubtful even to herself. People always say that once technology reaches a certain level, it becomes accessible to the masses, allowing everyone to enjoy its benefits. In reality, this trickle-down of technology is selective. Some technologies become available to ordinary people, but cutting-edge tech remains tightly controlled by the elite. Electromagnetic guns are one such example.

Everyone knows the electromagnetic gun is immensely powerful, yet ordinary people rarely even see one, let alone own one.

It was unclear whether the administrators of the Gathering Place had called in skilled hunters or if the hunters themselves sensed danger and took the initiative, but deafening gunfire erupted in many streets. Some wielded Gatling guns, others carried rocket launchers, and some were laden with grenades, tossing them one after another... Of course, there were always bumbling teammates. One man poured gasoline on the street and set it aflame, prompting the others to curse and scatter. Behind him, a volcanic scorpion engulfed in flames pursued relentlessly—the fire had no effect on the creature.

“Who’s that fool? Doesn’t he know why it’s called a volcanic scorpion?”

“Oh my goodness, didn’t anyone tell him that’s a bad idea?”

“Activating the volcanic scorpion’s fire damage, what a genius—do they think this is too easy for us?”

...

The arsonist was a burly young man in his twenties, wearing a tank top that revealed his muscular arms. Hanging from his chest was an AH rifle; on his back, a Thunder heavy machine gun and a shotgun; at his waist, two pistols and four grenades; and strapped to his legs, several knives. His equipment was comprehensive, but his understanding of volcanic scorpions was clearly lacking. Surrounded by angry hunters, he blushed and dared not argue.

The consequences of his arson were worse than expected. The fiery volcanic scorpions scattered wildly, igniting trash, flammable materials, and wooden houses. The fire quickly spread, fueled by the wind, growing to a scale that forced everyone to retreat.

Because of limited resources, most buildings in the Gathering Place were wooden. Fire spread rapidly. Although fire prevention and firefighting were well managed, and small fires were usually quickly extinguished, now everyone was preoccupied with the volcanic scorpion threat and had no time to fight the blaze. They could only watch helplessly as one building after another caught fire, the flames creeping closer and closer.

Li Juxu looked at the younger sister, who looked back at him. Both wore expressions of helplessness. Their chosen building hadn’t caught fire yet, but neighboring ones had. Even if the fire didn’t spread to their building, their escape routes were cut off. They had to leave.

The ground floor of the nearest burning building was already ablaze, but the fire hadn’t reached the top floors. This was the best time to evacuate. Li Juxu took out a rope and searched for a suitable spot to secure it when he suddenly saw the younger sister sprint, then leap nearly nine meters to land on the rooftop opposite. She rolled to absorb the impact and stood up, looking at him.

In a flash, Li Juxu made a bold decision. He stepped back, sprinted, and jumped. As he soared through the air, he felt a surreal sensation, as if his soul had left his body—light and unsteady, without any sense of security. When his feet touched down, he rolled twice with the momentum before standing. He froze in shock—he had landed on the edge of the rooftop, almost falling off. He looked back at the younger sister, who stared at him as if he were an alien.

The gap between the two buildings was about 9.5 meters. From his jump to landing, he covered roughly 16 meters horizontally. Although there was a two-story height difference between the buildings, the leap was still astonishing.

The younger sister was stunned, and so was he. Normally, he could only jump about seven meters. For the remaining 2.5 meters, he had been relying on potions—he had taken nine doses in one breath, so some effect had to show. After the initial shock came delight. He was ecstatic. His chances of escaping danger had just increased significantly.